Disclaimer: Nope, still not mine.

A/N: I'm home!  In civilization! With computers and beds and food that's not powdered!  *is happy* Not to say my trip wasn't fun…it was, rock climbing kicks ass and there were some great people (even if I do sound like I'm from New England now, how is it that half the group was from Massachusetts?).  But still, it's nice to be home and writing again.

Sorry this took so long to write, my muse wasn't working very well.  And I was subbing as a lifeguard in an attempt to earn enough money to by a season 1 Alias DVD.  The good news is I'm definitely going to make enough.   And this is finally written, that's good news too.

The bad news is the story's almost over. Sorry folks.

And of course, thanks to everyone who reviewed!

I would like to add an extra thank you to "Usagi" who was kind enough to BETA this for me.

CHAPTER 5: INNOCENT PRANK

Remus woke up the next day feeling insanely happy. He was lying in Sirius' arms. He was lying in Sirius' arms. It was, in a horribly clichéd nutshell, a dream come true. He was lying in Sirius' arms. How many times had he envisioned this moment? He couldn't even begin to count. 

"Remus?" Sirius' voice was low. Remus started slightly; he had been unaware that Sirius was awake.

"Hm?"

"You awake?"

"Yeah."

"It's late, we should get up." Remus shook his head in protest, not wanting to leave the comfort of Sirius.

"It's nearly half past eleven," Sirius insisted. "We don't want them to come looking for us." This time Remus nodded, understanding the logic of this argument, but still didn't move. Sighing, Sirius moved out from under him, and Remus felt his head hit the mattress.

 "Ow!" He protested, but Sirius ignored him, choosing to focus on the mattress beside the bed - untouched the night before. Frowning, he grabbed the still-neat comforter and began to shake it. "Whatcha doing?" Remus asked tiredly as he sat up.

"We've got to make it look like this bed's been slept in," Sirius explained, throwing half the comforter aside, and stepping back to evaluate the effect. "How's it look?"  

"Looks fine," Remus said shortly, slightly put off by Sirius' attitude. He had somehow imagined a more affectionate greeting, maybe a good morning kiss, and certainly some reaction to the night before that was not simply to hide it. Watching Sirius methodically indent the pillows, Remus began to wonder if his companion was regretting what happened.

"Okay, this looks good," Sirius said happily. Remus eyed him. Sirius seemed to understand what he was thinking, and threw him a reassuring smile. "If my mother ever suspects anything, she'll kill us both," he explained, before walking quickly over to Remus and giving him a kiss. "We should go have breakfast now."

Content, Remus quickly complied.

             *                                                                    *                                                      *

            The next few days were the best Sirius ever spent in his home. By his request he and Remus were overly cautious, confining any and all display of affection to his room, and even then only when it was locked. But that didn't prevent his overwhelming euphoria from spreading throughout the entire day. A glance from Remus, or a brush of his hand, was all it took to make him smile. It got to the point that Regulus actually asked him what was wrong. Sirius' only reply had been to shrug.

Remus was affected in the same way. The next night, when Regulus, uncreative as he was, brought up werewolves yet again, Remus remained unmoved. The two found almost hysterical joy in everything, from schoolwork to the antics of Kreature. 

And so life passed until, quite unexpectedly, Christmas Eve was upon them. That afternoon, after a particularly fierce chess game in which Remus barely escaped defeat, the two were laying in the yard, discussing how to celebrate.

"Obviously, nothing that normally happens in this house could be construed as a celebration," Sirius explained. "Really, Christmas is normally quite depressing. My mother's not big on decorations, and the only difference between Christmas dinner and any other dinner is the turkey."

"Well, we can't have that, now can we?" Remus said. "I would hate to regret being here instead of Hogwarts."

"That would certainly be a tragedy."

"So, how to celebrate?"

"Well, I have several ideas, which can all be carried out with great success."

"I assume one of those ideas involves your room and a locked door?"

"But of course, but that's for later in the day. I have another idea, just to add a little Christmas spirit to the house."

*                                                                      *                                                      *

"Regulus is a big fan of his hair," Sirius said quietly as he and Remus stalked down the hall in typical Marauder fashion. "Really, I think this will be quite upsetting." Remus smiled. Any qualms he might have had with upsetting Sirius's brother had long since disappeared. Besides, Regulus could learn to live with red and green hair - and it was only for a few months.

Regulus's door opened without a sound, a fortunate consequence of his habit of oiling it almost daily. Remus was surprised at the ease of the plan, but then, Sirius (and James, of course), always managed to come up with the simplest yet most brilliant pranks, all which would go off without a hitch. This one was apparently no different - it only took a minute to apply the hair dye, and soon the pranksters were back in Sirius' room, spread across his bed in fits of laughter. They feel asleep quickly - it was, after all, one in the morning - bodies entwined, and the mattress, like every night, forgotten.

*                                                               *                                                          *

The next day Sirius was jolted awake by the sound of his door being slammed open. In confusion he looked up, to be confronted by the image of Regulus, in boxers and a blue t-shirt, his hair bright green, tipped in flaming red.

"SIRIUS, I'M GOING TO KILL Y-holy shit!" Regulus's mouth hung open as he took in what he saw. "You-you-you two-are-are…holy shit." His face broke into a grin. "Mom will kill you! You are done!" And with that he began to laugh hysterically.

 Sirius scrambled to his feet, hating himself for being so careless as to not lock the door.  He was barley aware of Remus, who was staring grimly at Regulus. The only thing he was aware of was the fact that he had to stop his mother from finding out.

"Mom won't kill us if she doesn't find out."

"Oh, and I'm not going to tell her?"

"No, you aren't," Sirius said defiantly, attempting to keep his cool.

"And why not?"

"Because-because-if you tell on me, I'll tell on you!"  Regulus seemed slightly taken aback.

"But-but she didn't believe you about Nicole."

"Not about Nicole."

"Than what are you going to tell her?"

"You know." Regulus' face contorted into an expression of mixed fury, confusion and worry.

"You-you-how do you know?" He stammered, clearly disturbed.

"I have my sources," Sirius replied smoothly.

"You-you promise not to tell if I don't tell on you and…him?"  Sirius nodded coolly.

"Deal?"

"Yes. Deal," Regulus said before rushing off. 

Remus gave Sirius a quizzical look.

"What do you know about him?" He asked eagerly.

"Absolutely nothing," Sirius replied.

"You mean you were bluffing?" Remus asked in slight aw.  Sirius nodded and Remus broke into laughter. "That's great!  Hey... I wonder what got him so worked up? What does he think you know?" Sirius shrugged.

"I don't know, and I don't care," he said lightly.  In fact, he did care, because he was very worried that whatever it was, Regulus would be able to find out that he didn't know about it, and then, he didn't even want to think about it. But not wishing to ruin Remus' mood, he didn't voice his worry; instead it was with a smile that he suggested they open presents.